America’s World Cup hero will be hoping for a straightforward game on Wednesday night. No, not Kyle Beckerman. Mark Geiger, who makes his return to MLS after an impressive month in Brazil. There’s also the small matter of a high-profile game between Real Salt Lake and the New York Red Bulls (9 pm ET, ESPN2, match preview), with both sides hoping to boost their playoff tilt as the second half of the season kicks in.

New England is in need of a Revolution as they host the shorthanded Colorado Rapids Wednesday at Gillette Stadium (7:30 pm, MLS LIVE, match preview). Jay Heaps’ side has lost its last eight league games, which means one more defeat will equal the club’s worst losing streak ever.

4. FIRE TRY TO RELIGHT PLAYOFF CHALLENGE

Like New England, Chicago are in need of some Fire. They currently sit slumped four points off the playoff places in the Eastern Conference, while the Vancouver Whitecaps, their opponent Wednesday (8:30 pm ET, MLS LIVE, match preview) have drawn their last three league games (which does not sit well with coach Carl Robinson), with both teams scrambling for traction. Frank Yallop’s men are still hurting from the 5-1 loss at San Jose, and while the Fire’s wick shows no sign of catching light.

With US national teammates Michael Bradley and Clint Dempsey already poster boys for MLS, Jermaine Jones could be next for a move across the Atlantic, according to transfer speculation, and the Chicago Fire are one of the teams reportedly looking at the Besiktas man as a potential designated player.

Focus has already turned to 2018 for the US national team, and the contract extension of assistant coach Andreas Herzog is further proof of US Soccer’s commitment to the Jurgen Klinsmann Project. The Austrian, who has stated that he hopes to coach the US Under-23 team that will try to qualify for the Olympics in 2015, was a key part of Jurgen Klinsmann’s coaching team in Brazil.

The good times might seem some way off for Benito Floro and the current Canadian national team, but the 2000 Gold Cup-winning team is being honored with a place in the country’s Soccer Hall of Fame. Jason deVos – already an individual inductee – scored one of the most famous goals in Canadian soccer history to clinch victory over Colombia in the final 14 years ago, with Carlo Corazzin adding a second-half penalty. Now the 2000 squad will have more than a medal to remember their triumph by.

While we list him here for obvious reasons, 15-year-old Norwegian Martin Odegaard may soon rise to the forefront of world transfer talk. The youngest goalscorer in Norwegian Tippaligaen history, Odegaard has been seeing regular playing time – and producing – with Stromsgodset (where he is a teammate of on-loan MLSer Jeb Brovsky), who are currently in second place. His skills are worth a look.